Law firm Amrit & Company, representing HRD Corp, said its letter of demand issued on July 15 had been retracted, The Malaysian Insight reported.

“We were instructed by HRD Corp to retract the said letter of demand sent on July 15,” it was quoted as saying.

The letter of demand said the article by both news portals titled “HRD Corp fails audit, mishandling of funds revealed” contained impugned statements towards HRD Corp.

Earlier today, human resources minister Steven Sim said he had instructed HRD Corp to withdraw its letter of demand to The Edge over its reporting on the findings of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and the national audit department.

Sim said he disagreed with HRD Corp taking legal action against the media.

PAC chairman Mas Ermieyati Samsudin had earlier slammed HRD Corp’s threat to sue The Edge, saying that the committee viewed it as an attempt to pressure the media to not publish the report.

According to the letter of demand received by The Edge, HRD Corp claimed that the company, in two articles, had tarnished its reputation and that of its officials by misrepresenting the national audit department’s findings.

One article was titled “PAC flags dubious property deals by HRD Corp”, published on July 4, while the second article, published in the July 8 edition of The Edge Malaysia weekly, was titled “Frankly Speaking: Total breach of governance at HRD Corp”.

HRD Corp demanded the removal of these articles and an apology within 48 hours.

However, The Edge defended its reporting, citing official findings and said it would vigorously contest any lawsuit from the government agency.